I HATED those bloody things when playing Star Wars Jedi Knight 2...

maybe i am not seeing something essential ... but what kind of propulsion system are those drones using ?

It looks like the entire middle portion (the circle part) is a fan or propeller that blows the air out. The little vents around the bottom of that part are probably directional so that it can change the angle of the thrust.

I'm reminded not only of Imperial Probe Droids, but of the Copseyes from Larry Niven's Known Space Universe.

"Cloak of Anarchy" is an excellent short story and was actually my introduction to the man's work.

Now we have only to wait for the Ron Coles of this world...

id say it using helicopter like lifting, the blades would be inside it, air intake would be those tubes it has around, its body serving as blade protection, just guessing about

i-h-a-t-e-a-m-e-r-i-c-a-n-s, at least those who figure things like this out, and those who let them do it...

ERM....wheres the nearest dealer?....and about that nudist beach :P

@Manve: What? Do you think China would put this to better use?

@Manve: Just say it if you mean it, brave rebel.

@DustyButt: no, he probably meant the french, theyd use it to give them ample time to scramble away to safety at first sign of danger

@Redwraithvienna:
At first I was wondering the same thing but finally saw it uses a ducted fan for lift. Now I'm wondering what is the method and fuel source? Also what about range and duration?

@Redwraithvienna: Mainly the force...

Forward and downward looking cameras, eh? My years of video games teach me that these must be approached from above. What? 10,500 feet, you say? Shit.

How long before they become bigger, armored and carry weapons? Then you'll see them at street level - cue the Ed209...

Wait until the the good folks of Florida start to shoot these things down or if one fails and crashes through someone's roof.

Good times.

Aeon Flux time.

@crashman2600: If the thin only weights ~14 lbs, I wouldn't even have to use a high caliber rifle to take it out....just a sighted in .22, or maybe .223, 1 or two shots should send this thing reeling

At [www.defense-update.com] it says an earlier version does 100-500 feet, so I suspect a transcription error somewhere in the height spec.

Also, there's no information on duration...

Looks alot like an early Man-Hack to me.

@Manve: Wow, just wow. Perhaps you could comment on the American government or laws. But going after Americans.... classy.

Plus this isn't very intrusive. There have always been security cameras in public. I probably was on candid camera 10 times going to work this morning.

Not like this thing is going to be hovering in your backyard. Or maybe you're hiding something.....

pretty good target practice for some folk with BB guns ...

I can't believe I am the only one thinking of a harness attachment. With it's 100 waypoints and me dangling below, it's a quick trip above the traffic to MickyD's for my egg McMuffin, to the store for the paper and on to work. Look ma! No Hands!

IS the purpose to stop illegal activities? You notice that as we've gone on, for some reason it has become more and more crucial to know what some other guy is saying behind your back? What the fuck?

Big Brother loves you.

Goddamnit.

@strider - my thoughts exactly. Anarchy Park! Now everyone, just follow the hippy looking guy and remember where the doors are.

SANNA MESENTA . . .SANNA MASENT...

Is the government under the impression that everyone is doing something illegal so they have to have constant surveillance? Is it that the cops suck so much as it is... they have to pull in robots to do their jobs? Bang!

@crashman2600: I was thinking the same thing. Rednecks are going to be shooting these like skeet.

I mean, come on, it's like 100 more times more fun to shoot at than road signs, street lights and traffic cameras.

It's too early. I read that as Spy Drones coming to AT&T and was trying to figure out why AT&T was trying to spy on us from above and why they weren't mentioned anywhere else in the article.

@Mopster: NO it's so that they can outsource the police job to countries like China and India.... Cheap labor is the thing ;)

It would be great to catch one and use it to survey police activity.
[gizmodo.com]
Eventhough i wouldn't need to because they never do anything illegal.

That will end in a lawsuit once the first one falls onto someones car/head.

wait until the first hacker cracks the security code and takes over the damn thing or finds the frequency and jam the control box....

These are the eyes of the T series - coming soon!

@jetexas: That's the point. It's really a way to bait people to shoot at the drones, then the police lock the shooters up.

@Julien321: "I'm wondering what is the method and fuel source?"
I believe the answer to that is bread pudding.

Well this is a heckuva lot faster than the ones on GRAW. That would've helped in the game.

This is just another reason why I love living in Miami. Do you know how many car accidents this thing will cause because some idiot trying to drive is focused more on staring at the "flying saucer" than where they are going? We already have the worst drivers in the nation, now we get to add this to our plate.

Anyone ever play Half Life 2?

Do all Miami citizens receive crowbars to beat these things away if they get too close?

Spy drones... enough said.

i can't believe no one's mentioned metal gear solid yet... i can almost SEE the "!" on top of the thing

Target practice! You Floridians love guns, right? Alright, so it might be a little hard to pick one off at 10,500 feet but we can work it out.

Not to sound to pragmatic, but this would probably be deployed only during tactical situations. If the goal is ever-present surveillance I sincerely doubt this flying device would be less expensive than simply putting video cameras on every corner.

Does it have a self-destruct mechanism that will activate after taking a shot from a blaster?

Major invasion of privacy. What happens if you decide to skinny dip with your girlfriend in your pool???
I don't like the concept i think there are enough cameras around as it is. We don't need airborne spy cam's. Now SPY CAMS being used for important issues instead being used to see what you're doing at the park.
Thats a little too extreme. I wonder how the drone relays messages back to the server though.
And what would they do if one of these suddenly malfunctions and plummets onto someone's head??? What's the compensation for losing a life.
Happy i dont live in Florida but i dont like the thought one bit.

With all of the outsourcing Honeywell has doing to Asia it will not be long before it is built in China. Coming soon!!! Made in China

The MAV ACTD is designed as a ducted fan air vehicle, and flies like a helicopter, using a propeller that draws in air through a duct to provide lift. The MAV's propeller is enclosed in the duct and is driven by a gasoline engine. A heavy fuel engine variant of the MAV will be available in 2006. The MAV is controlled using Honeywell's micro-electrical mechanical systems (MEMS) electronic sensor technology.

So, the consensus at work is that these things scream "shoot me", not so much from a privacy standpoint, but more for sheer amusement. I'm not a gun person, but I think a trip to Kmart would be in order if these things start hovering over my neighborhood.

Just like certain government agencies thinking it'd be funny to use acronyms synonomous with Aleister Crowley's work, this kind of thing is going to get paranoid people freaked the fuck out.

Well, I'm sure some hacker is going to be designing pylons that disrupt it's carrier signals or something.

"We need more pylons!"

All I can say is "Pull!" BLAM!!

The new skeet shooting.

This is going to be another 50 years out, I figure there will be SOME little thing, (there is ALWAYS a little thing) that has been overlooked like birds flying into it or trying to attack it as prey. But hey, its just like anything else, you may skinny dip on Tuesdays between the hours of 6pm and 8pm but better get inside before the Spy Drone makes a fly-over.
Build a mousetrap, and I will do whatever I want all around your mousetrap. Doesnt anyone read Tom Clancy??

Plus this is stupid, at 10,500 feet, moving at 50+ mph, and flying a pre-selected GPS enabled flight plan, WHAT could you possibly hope to accomplish?? Will someone slow an 'orbiting' one and direct it to an accident??

I picture one of these getting caught up in the wing engine of a 747, causing it to crash into EPCOT center and frying Goofy and about 500 of the kiddies.

Enough with the counter terrorist BS, there are just not THAT many terrorists in this world that I am willing to subject myself to this or ANY more of the stripping of my rights.

Stand up people, grow a pair, we can ALL see this as a bad idea.

Can you honestly see yourself getting a ticket in the mail with a photo attached fineing you for littering when all you were trying to do was take a crap in the woods while hiking?? Hahahaha, Not funny!!

Oh yeah, Honeywell makes land mines!!

mmmmmm target practice. These things are much more predictable than birds. Hang on a sec, it's 2 o'clock, need to go help freedom out a bit with my right to own and bear arms.

@mr30gZune:
Well, all Miami residents carry some kind of blunt object in their vehicles for the inevitable car accident and fight. So we have things to defend ourselves.

@humorbot:
Yes we do indeed love guns. In Florida you legally have the right to shoot someone anywhere if they threaten you.

OMG, you all suck! this whole thing is a bad idea? yeah it will take a bit for people to get used to this, but it is just another thing in the sky. At 10,000 feet, it will be almost impossible to see it as anything other than a bird or plane.

And for those of you who fear Big Brother, I fear him too. But this is used to unman the front lines and that is more important than your own privacy. And in all honesty, your privacy is not at risk, your sucky driving is.

Take a deep breath and think about this: It can't see through your blinds, and Big Brother doesn't have a web cam in your bed room. You can still have your privacy and be safer on the roads knowing that bad drivers will be punished regardless if Smokey is around the next curve.

Wow if we had a few hundred of these things swarming Afghanistan and Pakistan like frakking wasps we could actually find Bin-Laden.

As far as the craft from a defensive standpoint it has a flight ceiling of 10,500 ft. and I'm sure the optics are not designed for that type of use. So in actuality it would be flying much lower and at 14 pounds it's not armored.

Hmmmmmm - since half of that weight is fuel -outfitting it with a flamethrower for short range duck in the cave situations would probably work well ...

How long before someone straps a chair to it and they become personal air-vehicles?

Okay...I think its about time to form a resistance movement.

Who's with me?